A survey of “marketers who make decisions about media spend” spearheaded by the Mobile Marketing Association indicates that their mobile marketing budget will rize more than 124 percent from 2010 to 2011. That still puts the total allocated to the channel at just over 4 percent. 

The results are preliminary; a report is due out next month. And, the survey group may be more representative of digital marketers generally than marketers as a whole. For example, digital marketing budgets are expected to increase from nearly 30 percent to 32.3 percent, while television spending is only 15.4 percent, rising to a little more than 16 percent next year. But where the money is coming from may be more instructive.

Mobile is up by the greatest single percentage, for example. And, other than the already cited projections for increases in online and television spending, the only other category projected to expand is events and trade shows (up to 9.7 percent from 8.4 percent.) The greatest percentage drop appears to come from outdoor and newspapers.

Outdoor is projected to drop 25.8 percent, newspapers 25.5 percent. Direct mail – which, with its personal connection, many might expect would be the area most conducive to mobile marketing – is projected to drop 17.5 percent, down to 9.9 percent from 12 percent of total spending this year. Retail display and point of purchase spending also declines 16.5 percent; magazines drop 10.7 percent and radio is down 8 percent. But again, a group of marketers that appears to be prepared to increase spending from an already high 8-plus percent in events and trade shows, compared with only 15.4 percent in television spending, seems slanted towards either technology or B2B spenders to begin with, and few in the digital world suspect that online spending has reached a third of marketing budgets overall.

Still, marketers surveyed represent more than $2.3 billion spent on mobile media in 2010, and they say they’re allocating $5.5 billion next year. So, any industry whose budget is poised to more than double has reason to celebrate. Other key indicators:

• Smartphones other than the iPhone will experience greater adoption. Though the MMA grouped Android with Palm and Blackberry, the group still represents 86 percent adoption for 2011 compared with 77.5 percent for iPhone.
• But three other categories are expected to experience much sharper growth curves than either iPhone or Android. E-reader spending will jump from 2.5 percent to 18.75 percent; tablets from 22.5 percent to nearly 44 percent, and netbooks will rise from 6.25 percent to 20 percent.
• SMS and mobile Web sites are tied in adoption at 58 percent this year and 83 percent projections for next year, while mobile apps start from the same base and increase to 71 percent next year.
• Location based features are projected to have the largest increase among mobile tactics, up more than 265 percent, but – despite the earlier indicator that it’s even with mobile Web sites – SMS appears to be in for an increase of 141 percent in spending and mobile video for a 137 percent hike.

Only 65 percent of marketers polled actually did buy mobile ads this year or plan to next year.  We’ve posted the full deck – which also offers up details on average spending per mobile app campaign – on DM2Pro.com so you can take a closer look.

Note that DM2 will also have the opportunity to get a closer look at what $2 billion bought marketers in 2010 through its MOBI awards program. MOBI and SAMMY (Social Advertising and Marketing) entries are due July 30. B2B campaigns will have their own day in the sun this year, and entrants will have an opportunity to put their best work in front of top brands and agencies, so please enter today.